I’m going a little outside the box, but if I was an outsider looking at the United States, these are my thoughts about a terrorist attack here:
I think the terrorists learned after 9/11 that large, coordinated attacks in the United States will bring Americans together and lead to war. In the days and weeks after 9/11, folks of different attitudes and politics actually worked together. Yes, that cohesion was eventually worn away by the American left, but that also took a lot of effort.
So the strategy changed to smaller attacks. Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon, shooting at a recruiting center, snipers in DC. It’s much harder to build up national outrage over someone shooting up a room at a military base, and in any case, the left will be running interference the entire way.
My guess is that Islam is letting us cut our own throats while they watch us from the sidelines. Even now, there are many Facebook posts proclaiming that the attacks in Paris don’t reflect Islam. A young person who goes to college for a safe space isn’t a threat. Our media is consumed by sex and scandal, and our leaders are feckless. If this trend continues, we’ll soon have folks signing up to become Moslems out of admiration for their focus and fortitude.
A cold war in reverse, then, in which our society is surrounded, and slowly rots from the inside.
I know some out there are thinking, “Hey, speak for yourself, buddy boy,” and I’m actually in your corner, but as time progresses away from 9/11, I see less and less understanding of Islam, the threat of Islam, and a desire to fight for our own culture.
IMHO
I would not disagree. I only offer that time isn’t on their side for your consideration. We’re in the final minutes of the last quarter and still ahead by 3. They have the ball, are inside our 50yd line and the clock is ticking. I think sooner or later they’ll try for a “Hail Mary”. I think what we’re seeing in Europe is leading up to it.